Institute of Transport and Logistic Studies
University of Sydney Business School

Work with leading international experts in the field

Located at our Camperdown Campus

2 year fixed term contract (with possible renewal), Academic Level B, with attractive remuneration and a salary supplement may be negotiable.

About the opportunity

Digital disruption in transportation systems aligned with driverless vehicles (cars, buses, trucks, and ships), mobility contracts that are mode neutral, and telematics to track the performance of future transport services, are now mainstream to critical research agendas of government and industry. While we see a proliferation, almost daily, of technology advancements (including vehicle design, computer systems, intelligent transport, smart mobility solutions), and advanced information systems, the noticeable lagging feature is the behavioural, social and commercial implications of this fast changing scene. Understanding how users, businesses and society in general might respond to these potential new modes of transport, and what this will mean for network performance, will be crucial to their success.

Two postdoctoral research fellow positions will be created. One research fellow will contribute to the demand side and the other to the supply side interests in a broad research agenda. They will be located in The Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS).

The demand side focussed position will be involved in new studies of the preferences of those who might choose to use new transport opportunities and whether they will be substitutes for existing transport options or generate new movements. This is both a concern and an opportunity for many planners. For example will buses and trains be replaced with autonomous cars? What impact is digital disruption likely to have on the transport network, what will this mean for new ways of delivering transport services (e.g., mobility contracts)? What will this all mean for the way our cities are governed? Governance models will be an important part of the research. The implications of subsidy for public transport is also of particular interest (and this could go either way - an increase or a significant saving). This also opens up ways to introduce reformed road user charges (i.e., road pricing) that are part of the mobility contract subscription price rather than being a very visible add on.

The supply side focussed position will focus on the transportation network impact of future changes in passenger travel and freight demand. Although vehicle automation may result in an increase in traffic levels across the network, the consequences for congestion and delay will depend on link and node performance as well as the distribution of traffic in space and time. Autonomous vehicles may well supplement rather than substitute for public transport. To counter any potential increase in traffic, more efficient use will need to be made of vehicles. Mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) facilitates the more intensive use of vehicles and encourages a multi-modal perspective whereby movements between modes is as seamless as possible. Given the limited accessibility of city centres for freight, co-modality, whereby people and goods share vehicles, will be considered. New algorithms will be designed to analyse and manage transport networks as new vehicle types and modes of operation are rolled out. The objective will be to provide network operators with strategic transport planning tools appropriate for the new era.

About us

The University of Sydney Business School is regarded as a leader in the region, and is one of the very few Australian schools to hold business and accounting accreditation from AACSB International and EQUIS accreditation from the European Foundation for Management Development. It is also the only Australian member school of CEMS, the Community of European Management Schools & International Companies.

Our Business School has an outstanding international reputation in management research, learning, development of resources, and journal publishing and works in close cooperation with industry, government and the not-for-profit sectors. On the Camperdown campus there is a new $180m state-of-the-art learning environment for the Business School which, in the highly competitive global market for business education, will further enhance our ability to attract the best and brightest students, staff and researchers from around the world.

Since our inception 160 years ago, the University of Sydney has led to improve the world around us. We believe in education for all and that effective leadership makes lives better. These same values are reflected in our approach to diversity and inclusion, and underpin our long-term strategy for growth. We’re Australia's first university and have an outstanding global reputation for academic and research excellence. Across our campuses, we employ over 7600 academic and non-academic staff who support over 60,000 students.

We are undergoing significant transformative change which brings opportunity for innovation, progressive thinking, breaking with convention, challenging the status quo, and improving the world around us.

About you

The University values courage and creativity; openness and engagement; inclusion and diversity; and respect and integrity. As such, we see the importance of recruiting talent aligned to these values.

We are interested in applications from individuals who have an interest in either the demand side or the supply side research initiatives. The successful applicants for both positions will have:

excellent communication skills

an ability to work in a highly collaborative team environment

evidence of successful writing of academic papers for conferences and journals

strong evidence of independent research

a PhD in a relevant discipline (or submitted and under examination).

How to apply

There are also specific essential and desirable criteria for both positions. For more information on the positions (including the full selection criteria), view the candidate information pack available from the job’s listing on the University of Sydney careers website.

All applications must be submitted via the University of Sydney careers website. Visit sydney.edu.au/recruitment and search by the reference number to apply.

Closing date: 11:30pm, 25 February 2018 (Sydney time)

The University of Sydney is committed to diversity and social inclusion. Applications from people of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds; equity target groups including women, people with disabilities, people who identify as LGBTIQ; and people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent, are encouraged.